


Testing

by Merfilly



Series: To Build A Future [10]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-20
Updated: 2011-10-20
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:24:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Decepticons have had Cybertron for half a vorn, when something crops up to test their readiness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Testing

**Author's Note:**

> This launches the second part of this series, with a significant time gap of half a vorn (roughly 40-odd human years). I have opted to look at the idea that with such a long-lived race, would maturity actually come that quickly?

The flare of alarms sounding throughout the new city of Megatropolis brought Megatron quickly from the temple complex. His thrusters roared through the air with a particular basso rumble that sent the Seekers scattering out of his flight path, only to fall into a proper flight and follow their Lord.

In the half-vorn since returning to reclaim their home-world, the Decepticons had built a thriving city on the site of the former capitol. Yet it was not strictly a Decepticon project, as some Autobots had returned, accepting both the end of the war and Megatron's invitation to help make their world live again. That first brood of hatchlings were not the only new lives, though available resources were carefully monitored before new creation was allowed.

Now, all that Megatron had built, through his followers and allies among the Autobots, was apparently being threatened. He landed at the palace, a gleaming, burnished building of thirteen spires, before striding inside to where the war room was located. The Seekers who had followed landed in precise order on the field outside, receiving orders from Thundercracker to remain ready.

"My Lord," Scion said smoothly, the juvenile Seeker as beautiful as ever in his state of high-polish. The young one fell in beside the warlord, stepping smartly to keep up with the longer strides. His optics glared briefly at the ghostly apparition that accompanied them, but Starscream seemed willing to merely observe at this time.

"What do we know, my novitiate?" Megatron asked the young Seeker.

"Soundwave was training Blaster on the outlook system, when an an outer satellite tracked an anomaly. A closer one confirmed it to be a fleet of at least five ships. They are not registering as any known Cybertronian design, and preliminary scans indicate a possible Junkion origin," Scion briefed the mech.

"Ahh, good. Things were getting so boring," Megatron said gleefully as they entered the war room, where Blaster hovered nervously, and Soundwave continued to read the data streaming in from his far flung satellites. Scion ignored the other young mech, maintaining his place of honor just off from Megatron's shoulder, easily in reach of the older mech. His optics burned with passion, hoping to be allowed to go with the flight of Seekers to contend with the problem.

"They will be little challenge," Soundwave scoffed as he provided technical details.

"I know, but it will alleviate some of the tension." ::Thundercracker, the full flight; Soundwave will remain in charge here. You will command the Flight.:: Megatron allowed the send to be open, to both Soundwave and Thundercracker. Nor did he exclude his young companion from it; the juvenile Seeker was student to all his machinations.

"My Lord, I will attend the battle as well!" Scion declared, voice gone hot and hungry for the fight.

Megatron almost forbid it; Starscream had not wanted to be a warrior until life gave him no reason not to be one. Yet, Scion was too much a product of his own shaping to not burn with a thirst for destruction. After that initial impulse to deny Scion, Megatron smiled, nodding. "You will fight where I can observe your mettle, Scion," he challenged. Failure would have a harsh price; Megatron demanded the best from his ward.

The reward would be well worth it, the young Seeker knew, if he proved himself worthy in the space battle.

Megatron then looked at Soundwave. "Make certain the Autobots among us understand that Cybertron is under attack from alien aggressors."

Soundwave was amused, and gave a curt nod; the Autobots that lived on Cybertron were very carefully fed a propaganda that heightened their protective spirit toward Cybertron, preparing for the eventual conquest of nearby systems.

`~`~`~`~`

The five ships had not been expecting resistance. Their scouts that had passed through this region of space some time prior had described Cybertron as 'molten slag, ready to be mined'. Scrambling unprepared fighters took some time, which meant the Seekers had leisure to pick them off as they emerged, until the Junkions got smart and launched a wave of them at once. Then the fighting settled into interesting lines.

The enemy had apparently been studying Decepticon anatomy, given their familiarity with stressor points in the wings of the fliers. Their use of high-flare weaponry was also aimed at damaging the more sensitive sensors of their opponents, which led to many Seekers accidentally damaging their own kind. Megatron relished the battle, though, throwing himself against the cruisers themselves despite the heavy guns trying to cripple him. It left Scion wavering; fight by his Lord, and potentially fail due to being outclassed, or take on the smaller fighter ships and potentially excel.

//There is another option.// Over the half-vorn of existence Scion had enjoyed, he and his other mentor had managed to work out silent communication, by Starscream overlapping his processor space just enough to emit the communication directly. Scion growled, though, as Starscream was growing difficult to evict, even if his frame was not yet quite large enough to support the amount of energy that manifested in Starscream's spectral presence. While they had an uneasy alliance centered on Starscream teaching Scion, the younger mech harbored few illusions on what Starscream wanted from him.

Scion was not going to just roll over and let the old Seeker take his frame.

//Only for the fight, or I will fly us through the rad zones again,// Scion growled. It was an effective threat; the radiation there seemed to break Starscream's grip on whomever he was possessing.

Starscream locked down the indignant outrage, as well as the scheming desire to keep the rust-bit from ever regaining control. For now, they would be one, with Scion learning even as Starscream pushed the immature frame to its limits in dizzying swoops and dazzling displays of daring skill. A few fighters were enough target practice, allowing Starscream to know his limitations (temporary ones, he reassured himself), before he burned thrusters to catch up to Megatron, flying around the warlord with an eye to disabling the cruiser cannons as Megatron himself dealt true damage to the warships.

Thundercracker got his Flight under control, isolating which sensors could be tuned down or shut completely out soon after. He was just as glad to not have Megatron's pet in his Flight, as Scion listened to no one but himself and Megatron.

//So much like Starscream,// Thundercracker remembered, half-bitter at the continued experimental upbringing of the only Seeker to be created in any of the broods thus far.

It did not take much more effort, once the Decepticons were fully comfortable in the battle, to utterly destroy the Junkion fleet.

`~`~`~`~`

Megatron slid into the steaming pool of oil, his entire frame grateful for the warmth after the brief space battle. His optics gave a silent command, and Scion brought him a cube of the synthetic energon Hook had come up with. It did not bring the same level of refreshment that true energon had, but would do for now. Fully submerged to his upper chest, Megatron flared his armor open, letting the oil seep in and lubricate hidden motors and relays.

"You fought well, my novitiate," he praised, and Scion could not help but preen beside the oil-pool.

"I was inspired," he answered coyly.

"That's what you call me now, rust-bit?" Starscream asked from his own ghostly perch to one side. Scion had to fight to keep from glaring his way, but it would not do to be caught talking to nothingness. He'd scathe the specter later, in private, he promised himself.

Megatron rumbled contently. "I heard Longarm had a new framing recently."

Scion turned his irritation at Starscream into a frown for his Lord. "Hook says my processor has not outgrown my current frame's capabilities."

"I think they are pushing that mockery of Shockwave too fast too far, and he will crack under pressure." Starscream smiled at his own words. "So let them, and it will be an easy thing to exploit, in time."

"Blaster has also upgraded more often than you have," Megatron pushed.

"He has to be able to carry his symbionts in time, so his frame is not devoted strictly to housing himself," Scion snapped, irritable as Megatron's words seemed to imply he was faulty.

Megatron surprised him by laughing, instead of reaching out to cuff him. "Have you been considering your next frame design?"

"Of course he has, you ancient piece of scrap," Starscream said impudently. Scion's wings twitched, but he did not look at the taunting mech, no matter the insult to his Lord.

"I have designs," Scion cautiously admitted, curious where this was going.

"Good." Megatron did not elaborate beyond that, leaving the juvenile Seeker to worry around the edges of the entire conversation in curiosity. "Go let Thundercracker review your combat performance. I have no more need of your presence."

Scion brought himself to his feet from the edge of the pool, inclining his head just slightly, but his Lord's optics were already offline.

By the time he was in the corridor, so was Starscream. "You need to stop talking to me in his presence," Scion muttered very low.

"Oh but it is one of my few pastimes." The ghost smiled wickedly, as his young future host ground dentaplates together in frustration. Something was afoot, and Scion did not know what.


End file.
